Rome [ENA] In accordance with Article 3.5 of the Treaty on European Union, in its relations with the wider world, the Union supports and promotes its values and interests contributing to the protection of its citizens. The European Union contributes to peace, security, the sustainable development of the Earth, solidarity and mutual respect among peoples, free and fair trade, eradication of poverty and the protection of human

rights, in particular the rights of the child, as well as to the rigorous observance and the development of international law, including respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter.
In accordance with Article 21 of the Treaty on European Union, the Union shall pursue reliability between the different areas of its external action and between these and its other policies, as well as it shall work for a high degree of cooperation in all fields of international relations, including its cultural dimension.While the policy framework for EU development cooperation is laid down in the Lisbon Treaty, the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, and the Paris Climate Agreement, the global context for EU action is the

search of a rules-based global order, with multilateralism as its key principle and the United Nations at its core. The 2030 Agenda, together with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda is the international community’s response to global challenges and trends in relation to sustainable development.
There are a wide array of actions and programs (both thematic and geographic) utilized by the European Union in its development cooperation. And it’s important to highlight the roles played by civil society in policy dialogue on these instruments and programs, and in their implementation.

It's crucial the objective of the Programme "Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument" to provide the financial framework to support the upholding and promotion of the Union’s values and interests worldwide in accordance with the objectives and principles of the Union’s external action, as laid down in Article 3(5), Articles 8 and 21 of the Treaty on European Union, including respect for fundamental rights and principles as well as the protection and promotion of human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
CONCORD, for example, has been actively engaged with both the EU’s institutions and its member states, monitoring and influencing the negotiations on the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020 with

particular focus on the development-related instruments and programs.
The EU budget for development cooperation is divided into different funding instruments, which provide the legal basis for the implementation of the various programs. Some of these funding instruments have a geographical focus, and some a thematic one. Each instrument is then divided into different programs: some are country-specific, some region-specific, and some thematic.

Notably, the DCI (Development Cooperation Instrument) includes both geographical and thematic programs.
The European Development Fund (EDF) provides the EU’s largest amount of funding to one geographical area (Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific region). It is a separate fund which is managed outside the framework of the EU’s general budget and funded by the member states on the basis of negotiated voluntary contributions.